Poor lie detection related to an under-reliance on statistical cues and overreliance on own behaviour.

The surge of online scams is taking a considerable financial and emotional toll. This is partially because humans are poor at detecting lies. In a series of three online experiments (N = 102, N = 108, N = 100) where participants are given the opportunity to lie as well as to assess the potential lies of others, we show that poor lie detection is related to the suboptimal computations people engage in when assessing lies.